Crypto markets absorbed one of their biggest leverage resets in weeks in the last 24 hours, with more than $514 million in positions liquidated in 24 hours, as a sharp intraday swing triggered forced selling in major derivatives hubs.
Data from CoinGlass shows that long positions accounted for $376 million of the total, nearly three times the $138 million in short liquidations, indicating how positioned traders were for a continued rally before the move reversed.
More than 155,000 traders were liquidated, and the largest order, a $23.18 million BTC position, was wiped out on the Hyperliquid perpetual site.
Binance, Hyperliquid and Bybit took the brunt of the impact. Binance saw $144.6 million in liquidations, 76% of them long. Hyperliquid recorded liquidations of $115.8 million, with an even higher long stake of 83%. Bybit followed with $109.3 million, with 72% long-term liquidations.
Together, the three exchanges accounted for approximately 72% of all forced detachments.
The bias reveals a market that had become increasingly one-sided after bitcoin’s bounce earlier in the week, with traders leaning toward a bullish continuation even as liquidity remained spotty in BTC and major altcoins.
This decline follows several sessions of rising open interest and elevated funding rates, conditions that often precede sharp restarts when price momentum plateaus.
Liquidation cascades amplify volatility by forcing underwater positions to be closed at market prices, deepening selling pressure during bearish phases.
Still, analysts typically view large long-term asset rallies as healthy clearing events that remove excess leverage and allow markets to stabilize, as long as key technical levels hold.
